MANSFIELD – The first day of school is often the most exciting for students. They come dressed in their best clothes, sit up straight in class and have big dreams of success in their sports and academic clubs.

Those were luxuries Madison fifth-grader Shannon Stapleton was never afforded, until this week.

Thursday, Shannon made her debut at Madison Middle School 2 1/2 inches taller — and more confident — than the last time her classmates saw her. An 8-hour procedure at Akron Children's Hospital this summer straightened the severe "S" curve in her spine, allowing her to sit, walk and grin more freely.

She was cleared to return to school during a doctor's appointment in Akron on Wednesday. Monday will be her first full day in school.

The 10-year-old said she was very emotional the first time she saw the before and after x-rays of her spine. She used to wear her long, brown hair down her back to try to hide her condition.

"I didn't want people to see the hump on my back because I'd be bullied," Shannon said.

Now, she's excited to walk the halls freely, and see her friends again.

"It's crazy that I'm so young and I fought through that," Stapleton said. "People call me a soldier."

Shannon's heart doctor at Akron noticed her scoliosis during an annual check-up two years ago. The 10-year-old's spine was starting to twist her body, making it difficult to breathe and restricting her participation in normal activities.

Akron orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Bono, called Shannon's case severe, noting it was the largest curvature he could remember at the hospital in a long while. Before surgery, her spine had a 100-degree curvature, he said.

Scoliosis is a relatively common condition, but less so the higher the degree of curvature, he explained.

"It's kind of weird because my name is Shannon and my spine was an S," Shannon said.

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Shannon Stapleton spent her summer undergoing gruesome back surgeries to help correct her scoliosis. Art therapy helped her express her fears, and now her recovery.
Kaitlin Durbin/News Journal

Shannon spent 21 days in a halo device, which attached to her skull and slowly stretched the spine as pressure was applied. At one point, she had 50 pounds of traction pulling at her warped vertebrae.

Her spinal fusion surgery was Aug. 12. Bono attached 23 screws and two titanium rods to her spine, which intrigued Shannon.

"What kind of metal? Titanium?"

"Look, you can sing, 'I am Titanium,'" her mother, Sharon said, referring to David Guetta's popular hit.

"Really ..."

Her father, Marvin, said he's been shocked by his daughter's transformation. Her curvature was reduced from 100 degrees to 37 degrees. She stands as tall as her mother now.

Shannon Stapleton is recovering form two major surgeries to correct her scoliosis.(Photo: Jason J. Molyet/News Journal)

"You can't put a dollar amount on that," Marvin said.

The surgery isn't a fix-all, but it's a start.

Shannon will still have restrictions, especially pertaining to physical activity, her first year of recovery, but her future holds more possibilities than ever before. She likely won't be able to pursue sports, but she does hope to resume piano lessons soon.

Twinges of pain from time to time remind her of all she has endured, and that there is still a long road of recovery ahead, but Shannon can't help but smile. She's already getting compliments on her posture and radiant confidence.

"If I had known that I was going to be looking down on her in the pain she was in, I probably wouldn't have gone through with it, but seeing her now I'm glad we did," Sharon said.